On Humans Restless Humanity: The Epic Migrations Into the Americas, Polynesia, and... Beyond? ~ Andrés Moreno-Estrada
Dec 5, 2025
Andrés Moreno-Estrada, a prominent Mexican geneticist and expert in Latin American population genetics, dives into the epic migrations of humans from Africa to the Americas and Polynesia. He discusses the dominant ancestral source of Native Americans and the contrast in indigenous ancestry retention between North and South America. Notably, he shares emerging evidence of genetic links between Polynesia and the Americas and highlights how island genetics amplify ancient admixture signals. The conversation delves into the navigational skills of Polynesians and the fascinating timing of their exploratory voyages.
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Humans Rapidly Colonized The Globe
- Modern humans left Africa and colonized most landmasses within ~50,000 years, with the Americas as the last major region colonized.
- Andrés Moreno-Estrada highlights that subsequent colonial-era mixing created today's complex American genetic landscape.
One Dominant Native American Lineage
- Most Indigenous peoples in the Americas descend from a single founding source that spread north-to-south.
- Moreno-Estrada notes additional waves existed but one lineage became dominant across South America.
Strong Indigenous Roots South Of The Border
- Latin America retained Indigenous ancestry more strongly south of the U.S.-Mexico border, shaping population genetics today.
- Moreno-Estrada explains genomic tools can map the origin of individual DNA segments to reveal those contributions.